15.1 Climate Change and Environmental Policies

International Climate Agreements

Global Efforts to Address Climate Change

Canada's relationship with international climate agreements has been complicated. The country has signed on to major global accords but has struggled to meet its commitments, making this a recurring theme in 21st-century Canadian politics.

Greenhouse gas emissions are the core problem these agreements try to solve. The main culprits are carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), methane ($CH_4$), and nitrous oxide ($N_2O$), released through burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and agriculture. Canada is one of the highest per-capita emitters in the world, largely because of its energy sector and cold climate.

• Kyoto Protocol (1997): This international agreement set binding targets for developed countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5% below 1990 levels during 2008–2012. Canada ratified it in 2002 but withdrew in 2011 under the Harper government, making it the first country to formally pull out. The stated reason was that meeting the targets would cost the Canadian economy billions while major emitters like China and the U.S. were not bound by the same rules.
• Paris Agreement (2015): This replaced Kyoto's approach with a more flexible framework. Instead of binding top-down targets, each country sets its own nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for reducing emissions. The goal is to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an aspirational target of 1.5°C. Canada committed to reducing emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030, later increasing that target to 40–45% under the Trudeau government.

The gap between what Canada has promised internationally and what it has actually achieved in emissions reductions remains a major point of political debate.

Domestic Climate Policies

Carbon Pricing Mechanisms

To meet its international commitments, Canada has developed several domestic policy tools. The most significant and controversial of these is carbon pricing.

Carbon pricing works by putting a cost on greenhouse gas emissions, creating a financial incentive for businesses and individuals to pollute less. It can take two main forms:

• Carbon tax: A direct price per tonne of emissions. British Columbia pioneered this in 2008, becoming the first North American jurisdiction to implement a broad-based carbon tax. Studies have shown it reduced emissions in B.C. while the province's economy continued to grow.
• Cap-and-trade: The government sets a cap on total emissions and issues permits that companies can buy and sell. Quebec adopted this model and linked its system with California's in 2014.

In 2018, the federal government introduced a national carbon pricing backstop, meaning provinces that didn't implement their own system would have the federal price applied. This sparked legal challenges from several provinces, but the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the federal carbon pricing law in 2021.

Renewable energy initiatives have also expanded across the country:

• Ontario's Green Energy Act (2009) aimed to boost wind and solar production and create green jobs, though it was repealed in 2019 amid criticism over rising electricity costs.
• Canada already generates a large share of its electricity from hydropower, particularly in Quebec, British Columbia, and Manitoba.

The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (2016) was the federal government's first comprehensive climate plan, covering carbon pricing, clean technology investment, and adaptation strategies. Provinces and territories have also developed their own plans tailored to regional circumstances, such as Quebec's Climate Change Action Plan.

Environmental Protection Measures

Safeguarding Natural Resources and Biodiversity

Canada's environmental challenges go well beyond carbon emissions. Protecting the country's vast natural landscapes, freshwater systems, and wildlife is an ongoing effort that often collides with economic interests.

Conservation efforts focus on preserving habitats and preventing species loss:

• Canada has established an extensive network of protected areas, including national parks like Banff (established in 1885, Canada's first) and marine conservation areas like Gwaii Haanas off the coast of British Columbia.
• The Species at Risk Act (SARA), passed in 2002, provides legal protection for endangered wildlife and requires recovery plans for at-risk species. However, critics argue that enforcement has been inconsistent and that many listed species have not seen meaningful recovery.

Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are required before major development projects can proceed. These assessments evaluate potential effects on air, water, land, and biodiversity, and recommend ways to reduce harm. The process was overhauled by the Impact Assessment Act (2019), which broadened the scope of reviews to include climate impacts and effects on Indigenous communities. In 2023, the Supreme Court found parts of this act unconstitutional for overreaching into provincial jurisdiction, sending the issue back into political debate.

The oil sands controversy is perhaps the sharpest example of the tension between economy and environment in modern Canada. Alberta's oil sands represent one of the world's largest petroleum reserves and are a major driver of the provincial and national economy. At the same time, extraction produces significantly higher emissions than conventional oil production and has caused deforestation, tailings pond contamination, and disruption to Indigenous lands and waterways. Pipeline projects like Keystone XL and Trans Mountain have become flashpoints in this debate, drawing opposition from environmental groups and some Indigenous nations while receiving support from industry and provincial governments seeking economic growth.